Reflections

A ‘slice’ of |AUMniosis"

“All children are artists. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”Pablo Picasso

For more than 20 years, art has been my way to bring the inaudible and the invisible to light. Creativity is the most powerful means for me to understand and then express that which is universal. It’s my way of colouring as the cosmic Muses bring Music to life, the Symphony of Consciousness finding its way into form.

Daring to paint —having long considered myself a dilettante— I use my fingers far more than a brush and have only recently learned this is not a 'bad’ thing. Painting facilitates a sense of self-understanding and self-forgiveness, catalysing a deep sense of calm that fosters deep healing. Looking through the lens of my camera has long been my favourite way to wander in Nature, lost in a dream state or daydream. The theft of my camera and equipment in January 2015 had me doing emotionally braille for a while, but served to send me deeper into painting as a way to pave a path towards remembrance.

Non-attachment to an outcome fuels inspiration, and leads to joyous awe as I never know where a piece is growing. In every way, this is like life; each stoke leading to a new door with curiosity letting me open it, the desire to experience renewal carrying me —and sometimes drop kicking me— over the threshold. Creating and Co-creating leads me time and again to the dynamic still point where the reunion of heart and hand utterly erases the need for approval letting me play until my heart is content.

Life is like art, a blank canvas to be approached as ‘Plan Be’ —not an assumption in sight. Gesso and white paint are my best ‘friends’, because they mean there’s no such thing as a mistake! Creating is the the most lovely way to exercise my spirit and excise the demon-like voices that sometimes attack my heart, whispering “You’re not good enough.” So it is that art is an engagement with my inner child, and when this piece of me get's playtime, Time runs away because thinking (judgement) surrenders and my hand moves.

I paint for the same reason I write everyday; for the well-being of my soul, and to constantly remind myself that I am not dying of terminal uniqueness! Never the less, it always amazes me that others appreciate my high play with form and colour. My hope is that you will appreciate only that this is my way of making chaos and turning it into an expression of harmony. However, the real miracle for me is how time and again creating proves to be a powerful antidote to the viruses of chaos, doubt, loneliness and fear.